“This Is Absolutely Stunning”: Pretoria Woman Flaunts Her Luxury Backyard Shack in Viral Video

• A 23-year-old salon owner from Pretoria built a backyard shack that Mzansi is proudly calling a five-star hotel experience
• Aluminium windows, a mounted TV and a full veranda give the small backyard structure a look that rivals a real studio apartment
• Young South Africans in townships are quietly reshaping what informal living can look like, one upgraded backroom at a time
• Briefly News reached out to Nthabiseng Maluleka who shared the background story behind her stunning living space

A 23-year-old beauty salon owner from Ga-Rankuwa left Mzansi completely stunned on TikTok. Nthabiseng Betty Maluleka built a backyard shack on her family’s property in Pretoria. She gave South Africa a full room tour on 1 March 2026, and Mzansi loved it.

What viewers saw looked nothing like what most people expect from a shack. The structure sits on the family property in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, in Tshwane. Maluleka built and designed it as her own private living space at home.

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A small space that hits differently

Backyard rooms have been a fixture of township life for many decades now. Over a million households are relying on backroom living across South Africa. For years, people dismissed these structures as desperate and poorly built temporary solutions.

That old reputation has been changing, and Maluleka’s backroom shows exactly why. Young township residents are now investing real money and intention into their personal spaces. Her shack has bright white interior walls that make the room feel open and airy. A proper ceiling is installed overhead and gives the space a finished and permanent feel. Aluminium windows and a sliding door deliver the kind of polish most people associate with formal apartments.

Inside, a large TV is mounted cleanly on one of the white interior walls. A bed with a full headboard takes up one side of the stylish room. A couch adds a proper lounge feel to the other side of the space. Outside the entrance, there is even a small veranda that gives the shack real curb appeal.

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Briefly News speaks to Maluleka

Maluleka told Briefly News that that her biggest motivation stemmed from her childhood days spent in her mother's kitchen. As she grew older, she spotted an opportunity to build her own backroom, funded by the considerable income her salon generated.

"My biggest motivation was that when I grew up I would stay in my mom's kitchen, so as I grew I saw an opportunity to build my own backroom because the salon made me a lot of money," she said.

She added that the project took eight months to build and a further three months to furnish to her liking. It cost her between R40,000 and R70,000 for materials and labour.

Maluleka posted the room tour under her TikTok handle @nthabi220.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi reacts to the beauty

Briefly News compiled some comments from the post below.

@sindy_lindy commented:

“I don't have an income yet, but this is my plan right now for my kids.”

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@Makula Matebula wrote:

“It’s not about money, it’s about style, hygiene, and peace of mind. That’s what we call home (kwami). It is beautiful, my sister. 🤏🏼 I love it. 🌹”

@Shawty#Fifi said:

“This is absolutely stunning. I’d stay here anytime. You are rich because it's your own. You don't pay any rent, it's an absolute blessing. 💯🥰”

@Rodney Mdluli wrote:

“Bravo! Make what you have the best of your life and enjoy every moment of it. I love your place. 💪”

@Mercia de Bruin commented:

“This is absolutely beautiful. 🥰 Maybe get a bigger clock, not too big though just to stand out more, I would say. 😍”

@Zolile Dweba said:

“When they say: 'make the best from what you have, they mean this’. What a beautiful home."

More articles involve shack makeovers

• A Gauteng man built a shack with a one-door garage and a veranda that gives the structure a proper house-like appearance from the street.
• A young wife captivated thousands of people after giving a full tour of her beautifully decorated two-roomed shack in Cape Town.
• A young salon owner from Ga-Rankuwa turned her backyard shack into a modern space that looks more like a studio apartment.

Source: Briefly News